Clutches and torque converters transmit rotational forces between an engine and a vehicle transmission while simultaneously dampening undesirable vibration and noise. One undesirable vibration commonly results from lash in power transmission systems. There are various sources of lash; however, one source comprises the connection between a splined shaft or hub and a complementary fitting assembly. Generally, lash occurs as a result of the presence of small spaces between the splines of a rotating shaft or hub and the splines of a rotating complementary fitting assembly, e.g. a toothed gear or the like. The small spaces tend to allow the splines, or teeth, of two structures to violently collide with one another when there is a change in the relative motion therebetween, for example, when there is a change in torque. While splined shafts or hubs and their complementary fitting assemblies are primary sources of lash and vibration noise, other structures can also produce lash, for example, loosely riveted connections between rotating plates.
What is needed then is an improved assembly for reducing lash in spline connections, and to a lesser extent, vibration noise.